Gangs of New York
Catch it on HBO
I put off seeing this for as long as possible. After getting 10 Oscar nominations, it would be remiss of me to skip it, which was my every intent ever since the first teaser slides started appearing two years ago. Curse this film critic thing sometimes! After assembling some friends for moral support, we huddled together and tried to appreciate, if not enjoy, this movie. We could barely do either. Yes, yes, every actor dreams of working with Martin Scorcese, but I don't think I will ever warm to his aesthetic. Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Casino, Goodfellas, and this are all tales rotating around irredeemable characters filled with seemingly endless, baseless rage. I never understand why the characters are as crazed as they are (Bill the Butcher is even more over the top than Casino's Joe Pesci, if that's possible) and I'm never really sure why I should care.
Gangs opens with a hideously complex (though surprisingly exploding-squib-free) street battle, so early that I have no idea who is what, why, or what I am supposed to feel watching this. Thus alienated, I grow bored. My six companions were equally unengaged, and the evening turned into a pretty rowdy make fun of the movie night to salvage the evening. If they hadn't been there I probably would have turned it off. One companion happened to be a real New York City historian (can I pick 'em or what?) and that was helpful in illuminating what I guess was supposed to be obvious to the viewer about the historical context. I'm no fool, but I need something to hook me, if the actual characters, remaining unnamed for much of the film, refuse to do it. Everyone is just all hate and venom and duplicity, brandishing weapons and dispatching each other like a rated-M video game. Nothing is there to engage the audience. The DiCaprio character's storyline is supposed to, they try, but he behaves so contrarily to any sense or sympathy that you stop caring about him as well.
Oh sure, the film as great mood, texture, sets, color, and even some nice camera work. The sound was good enough that it gets its own compliment, But Best Picture? As Roxie Hart says, "Are you kidding?" Perhaps this movie is considered "good" in the same way that something like Taxi Driver is "good" - showing a dark, ugly side of human nature that we all carry within us, unleashed and glittering coldly on the screen. With no attempt to explain or to redeem it, what is the point? Even Dahmer went to some trouble to give that psychotic some levels.
It is interesting to see Lincoln-era New York, how podunk and Western it is, and to get a glimpse of how deep the NY murderous vibe really goes. However, if Scorcese hadn't directed it, it never would have been seen, another period film anecdote like Mary Reilly for the video shelves.
For what felt like hours, (more than three I mean) we saw real, old school American values played out for us: ignorance, xenophobia, greed, tyranny, corruption, disregard for life, and lawlessness in the name of individualism. It was amusingly ironic that an Irishman would be playing the Irish-hating Butcher. The ridiculous notion that Americans of European ancestry claim sovereignty as "Natives" over "them" that come over here to leech off the commonweal became more depressing for the lack of any significant attitude change after 141 years. I'm glad I don't understand where all the hatred in the movie came from - if I miss out on appreciating a movie like this because of that, I think the intangible benefits far outweigh any loss.
I don't need to go into Day-Lewis' DeNiro-as-Cat-in-the-Hat histronics or DiCaprio's generally unbelievable moxie. I would compliment Jim Broadbent, but I would hope he had had the sense to stay out of this picture. I wish Henry Thomas could have played Amsterdam (DiCaprio) and let us see him shine again.
Too gory to be a drama, too dull to be an action film, and too unsatisfying to be a revenge film, Gangs is unfortunately highly overrated.
-- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ These reviews (c) 2002-2003 Karina Montgomery. Please feel free to forward but just credit the reviewer in the text. Thanks. reviews@cinerina.com Check out previous reviews at: http://www.cinerina.com http://ofcs.rottentomatoes.com - the Online Film Critics Society http://www.hsbr.net/reviews/karina/listing.hsbr - Hollywood Stock Exchange Brokerage Resource http://www.mediamotions.com for 1999 releases
========== X-RAMR-ID: 34395 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 1119201 X-RT-TitleID: 1110067 X-RT-SourceID: 755 X-RT-AuthorID: 3661 X-RT-RatingText: 1.5/5
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